Friday, April 27, 2012

A while back, we were contacted by the clothing company Sport Science. They wanted to know if we would like to review their Smarter T-shirts. Of course we said yes! We received the shirts maybe a week or two after Dinah was born so we really hadn't had time to wear them and test them out. Well this past weekend was a different story. We were able to get out on two different trails this weekend and in so doing, I wore my Men's Smarter Short Sleeve Tee.

I have to admit I'm in love with this tee. It's light, airy, comfortable, and quick drying. On our hike up to Laurel Falls, I had a pack on. By the time we got to the falls my back was pretty wet with sweat. After sitting up top and enjoying the waterfall and hiking back down, I had forgot that my back was wet at all. Talk about quick dry time. I like that a lot.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

In less than two weeks time we will have our 5 year blogiversary. Of course it didn't start out as Appalachia & Beyond, it started out at Robin & Tim's Outdoor Adventures, or something like that. It was back in 2010 that we changed it to Appalachia & Beyond and gave it all a nice make over, but I digress...

Saturday, April 21, 2012

We've been jonesin' to get out on the trail for a while now. We hadn't been on any hikes since September of last year. Well I take that back, Robin did let me out on the Hiker Release Program back in November. Granted we've been on the Songbird Trail at Norris Dam State Park a couple of times and up to the Pinnacle Overlook at Cumberland Gap NHP after our little Bug was born but those were more just strolls along the path and not what we consider "real hikes". This all changed last weekend when we decided we were going to get out on the trail even if it killed us.

We had originally planned on just doing one hike this weekend. However, we had a small dilemma. Dinah is at the discovery age (4 months old) and she's not keen on being in her car-seat stroller. So we had to find a stroller that would allow her to sit up and see the world as it came at her. We found a good stroller and decided that instead of hiking on Saturday, we would just go to a park and walk around to test out the stroller and see how "Bug" did.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

This was our other "Featured Destination" and is now here on the main blog page for archival purposes. If you find yourself galavanting around Rogersville, TN, make sure to stop in at Amis Mill Eatery for a bite to eat. They always have some great specials. After today, the "Featured Destinations" page will no longer exist.Amis Mill Eatery - Rogersville, TN

What is it about food that brings us all together, lightens the heart, and fills the soul as it fills our bellies? Can you imagine for a moment an aroma that tantalizes the tongue and makes your mouth water? Is food more special - more fulfilling - when found off the beaten path, when you're treated like family, when you can enjoy it on a a heated porch in the dead of winter? We think so. It wasn't long ago that we happened upon such a place, and now we'd like to share our feet-space under the table with you.

Amis Mill Eatery is our featured destination, is located in Rogersville, TN, and offers one of the friendliest meals we've ever sat down to. The food was scrumptious, the service was unsurpassed, and the atmosphere was coveted by all at our table.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Since we haven't featured any new destinations in some time, we figured it was time to decommission the "Featured Destinations" page and instead archive the two destinations here in separate blog posts. Going forward, if we do have a "Featured Destination" to write about, it will be a regular blog post and we will have it tagged with "Featured Destination" along with any other relevant tags. So for the first archived "Featured Destination" We present to you LeConte Lodge.

(Originally Posted on the now absent "Featured Destinations" page in Spring 2011)

Last year around this time, Robin and I took an overnight trip to the top of Mount LeConte for our anniversary. For years we've always rented a cabin for a weekend to celebrate what we coined our "anni-moon". You see, we were married on top of a mountain in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and for our honeymoon we stayed in a cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. So every year since we have celebrated our anniversary in much the same way. Always a cabin, and always in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Friday, April 6, 2012

How many of you have the fortune of having a trailmate/hiking partner who also happens to be your best friend, your life long companion, and the love of your life? I happen to be one of those people and consider myself the luckiest of souls to have such a person.

Today marks our 10 year wedding anniversary. 10 years ago today, we tied the knot in a simple ceremony on top of a small mountain in Gatlinburg among our immediate family and in the presence of God in his wonderful creation. 10 years ago we pledge to each other our lives together and while like most we've hit a bump or two along the way, it has nonetheless been an amazing ride and I look forward to the new adventures that lay waiting for us.

To my wife, my best friend, my trailmate, and love of my life, thank you for being all that you are to me and our family. Thank you for being my forever trailmate and companion. You mean the world to me and always will. I Love You Now, Always, and Forever. May the long trail of life always keep us together on the path.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

The very kind folks at SylvanSport (makers of the SylvanSport Go) asked us if we would help spread the word about their big contest this year. Of course how could we turn that down. The SylvanSport Go is a pretty sweet looking trailer/camper combo, and to beat all, SylvanSport is a great outdoor company located just a hop, skip, and a jump across the Blue Ridge from us in Brevard, NC.

If you remember they had the "Find The Go" contest last year and the year previous. Every few days they'd release a new set of coordinates to narrow down to the area the Go was located, along with a clue. At the end of 8 sets of clues they finally had one last set of coordinates and the clue, the first person to find it, won it. Last year it was somewhere in San Francisco. Unfortunately for us, there was no way to get out that far. This year though, the contest is different and is pretty much up for grabs for anyone. So here are all they details they asked us to share.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Happy April everyone. We know that y'all have been waiting with nervous anticipation to find out who gets to add the spiffy ATAC A2 flashlight from 5.11 Tactical to their packs. Well ladies and gentlemen, wait no longer. We do have a winner and to beat it all Dinah helped me pick the winner when we logged into the Random Number Generator and input the numbers for the entries.

So without further ado, the lucky winner of the ATAC A2 flashlight from 5.11 Tactical is none other than Jeff of the blog AppalachianHikerHQ. Jeff, when you see this send us an email at appalachiaandbeyond (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and we will send it along so 5.11 can get you your new flashlight. Let us know how it does out on the trail.

Okay everyone, that's about all the time we have for this evening. It's time to go wolf down supper before the Bug wakes up from her nap. Stay tuned as we have a pretty cool contest announcement post for tomorrow from a company located here in the Southern Appalachians and we are happy to help spread the word.

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